LOSE WEIGHT, FIGHT CANCER Your body mass index (BMI) is tied to your cancer risk. Ask your doctor what your number is, or visit go.philly.com/cancer to link to a BMI

calculator from the National Institutes of Health.

MY BMI

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To reduce your risk of breast can-cer, colon cancer, uterine cancer, cancer of the esophagus, kidney cancer and many others, aim to lose enough weight to hit a BMI that’s under 25.

If you’re 5’4”, you shouldn’t weigh more than about 140 pounds. If you’re 5’11”, you shouldn’t

weigh more than about 175 pounds. If your BMI is 30 or more, you’re con-

sidered obese and have an even greater cancer risk than someone who is over-weight.

THE STEVE HARVEY COLONOSCOPY EXPERIENCE (BUT SERIOUSLY, FOLKS)It’s no joke: African-Americans have the highest death rate from colorectal cancer, in part because too few are getting colonoscopies to detect the cancer early, when it’s highly curable. Comedian Steve Harvey does his (funny) part to get the word out in a “video diary” from the American Cancer Society that follows him around on the day of his very own colonoscopy. Watch it today at go.philly.com/cancer.

EARLY-DETECTION CHECKLIST: HIS In YOUR 20s and 30s:

Get in the habit of having regular health exams. Depending on your health history, your physician might examine for cancers of the thyroid, mouth, skin, lymph nodes and testes as part of your check-ups. Ask the doctor if there’s anything in your health his-tory that puts you at special risk for cancer. If there is, you may want to start certain screenings early, or have them done more often. This applies at all ages.

In YOUR 40s: If you are African-American or have a father or brother who had prostate cancer before age 65, talk with your doc-tor starting at age 45 about the pros and cons of testing for prostate cancer. That way you can decide if testing is the right choice for you. Men with multiple fam-ily members affected by prostate cancer before age 65 should have the talk even earlier, at age 40.

The American Cancer Society does not recom-mend routine prostate-can-cer screening for everyone. See the box “Talking, Yes — Testing, Maybe” for important guidelines.

If you decide to screen, your doctor can do a PSA (prostate-spe-cific antigen) blood test either with or without a rectal exam. How often you are tested will depend on your PSA level.

50 and OLdER: At 50, start getting screened for colorectal cancer, either with an exam such as a colonoscopy that tests for polyps and cancer — the preferred option — or an exam that tests mainly for cancer. Also at 50, talk with your doctor about the pros and cons of testing for prostate can-cer so you can decide if testing is the right choice for you. The American Cancer Society does not recom-mend routine prostate-cancer screening for everyone. See the box “Talking, Yes — Testing, Maybe” for important guidelines.

STOP SMOKING HERE’S WHY AND HOW

Besides causing lung cancer, smoking also causes cancers of the larynx (voice box), mouth, throat, esophagus and blad-der. It’s also linked to the development of can-cers of the pancreas, cervix, kidney and stomach, and some types of leukemia. Smokeless-tobacco products, such as chewing tobacco and snuff, cause cancer, too. The American Cancer Society warns: “There is no safe way to use tobacco.” Getting help from a telephone “quit line” doubles the odds that you’ll succeed in trying to kick the habit. Every state in the U.S. operates such a line, with free, live support. To reach Pennsylvania’s quit line, dial 877-724-1090. The number for New Jersey is 866-657-8677. The American Cancer Society says that getting counseling and using nicotine-

replacement therapy — nicotine patches, nicotine gum, etc. — are good options for some people who are trying to quit smoking. An impressive 30

percent of former smokers who do both are able to quit for the long term.

Sadly, cancer is not colorblind. Black men are more than twice as likely as white men to die of prostate cancer. White

women have the highest incidence of breast cancer, while black women are the most likely to die from it.

Hispanic women have the highest incidence of cervical cancer, but black women are the most likely to die from that, too. The incidence of cervical cancer among Vietnamese women in

the U.S. is three times as high as it is for Chinese and Japanese women.

How to improve your personal odds? Stop smoking, get active, eat right and get the recommended screenings that can find the disease early, when it’s most curable. The American Cancer Society says these four steps can prevent about half of all cancer deaths.

Need tips? Reminders? A mammogram? Clip the coupons here. In honor of National Minority Cancer Awareness Week, the Daily News invites you to tear our coverage apart.

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EARLY-DETECTION CHECKLIST: HERS In YOUR 20s and 30s:

Get in the habit of seeing a doctor for periodic health exams. Depending on your health history, your physician might examine for cancers of the thy-roid, mouth, skin, lymph nodes and ova-ries as part of your regular checkups. Ask the doctor if there’s anything in your health history or your family’s that puts you at special risk for any type of cancer. If there is, you may want to start certain cancer screenings earlier than most

people do, or have them done more often. This applies at all ages.

Know how your breasts nor-mally feel, and tell your doctor

right away about any change. Get a checkup about every

three years that includes a clini-cal breast exam.

Start getting cervical-cancer screenings about

three years after you start having sex and

no later than 21 years of age. Get screened every year if you’re using the regular Pap test or every two years with

the newer liquid-based Pap test.

Beginning at 30, women who have had three normal Pap-test results in a row may skip a year or two between screenings.

In YOUR 40s: At 40, start having annual mam-

mograms, and continue for as long as you’re in good health. Also starting at 40, get a checkup every year that includes a clinical breast exam. Pay attention to how your breasts nor-mally feel and report any change right away. Continue your regular cervical-cancer screenings.

50 and OLdER: At 50, start getting screened for col-orectal cancer, either with a test such as a colonoscopy that searches for polyps and cancer — the preferred option — or a test that mainly searches for cancer.

Continue your annual mammograms for as long as you’re in good health. Continue to get a checkup every year that includes a clinical breast exam. Pay attention to how your breasts nor-mally feel and report any change right away. Continue your regular cervical-cancer screenings. (You can choose to stop if you’re 70 or older and have a history of normal tests. Ask your doctor for details.) Once you’re in menopause, ask your doctor to explain the risks and symp-toms of endometrial cancer. Report any unexpected bleeding or spotting right away.

By BeCky BatCha

(or less)

YOUR LUcKY nUmBER:

NO INSURANCE? YOU can STILL GET YOUR mammOGRamFree mammograms and some other cancer screenings are available through these com-munity organizations, funded in part by grants from Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Groups that work with recent immigrants have staff members who are flu-ent in a number of lan-guages.

African Family Health Organization 260 S. Broad St., 10th floor 215-546-1232 Contact: Merytony Pierre-Jean

Serving women from African and Caribbean back-grounds, including immigrants and refugees. Free mammograms and breast-cancer-education workshops are available. Call to arrange an appoint-ment. Staffers speak French, Haitian Creole and African languages.

Bebashi 1217 Spring Garden St., 215-769-3561, ext. 114Contact: Tynisha Davis

Serving low-income African-Americans and other women of color. Referrals to free mammograms at local hospitals are available, and a breast-health coordinator offers personal support, including reminders about appointments and accompani-ment to them.

Center for Asian Health, Temple University 1415 N. Broad St., Suite 116 215-787-5431 Contact: Grace Ma

Serving Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Cambodian women. The center can arrange free mam-mograms to screen for breast cancer and Pap tests to screen for cervical cancer. It can also help clients negotiate affordable screening and care for hepatitis B and liver cancer. Staffers speak Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.

Mazzoni Center 809 Locust St.215-563-0652, ext. 580Contact: Jen Przewoznik

Serving lesbian and bisexual women, and transgender men and women. The center offers free clinical breast exams and referrals for free mammo-grams. It also offers specialized cancer-risk education to transgender clients who may be more prone to certain cancers because of hormone treat-ments.

Philadelphia Unemployment Project 112 N. Broad St., 11th Floor 215-557-0822, ext. 106 Contact: Katy Weeks

Weeks, the organiza-tion’s “health-care navigator,” can refer unemployed work-ers and their fam-ily members to free mammograms and free cervical-cancer screenings at area hospitals, and can advocate to help find affordable cancer care and medica-tions. Help is avail-able in English and Spanish.

Puerto Rican Unity for Progress 818 Broadway, Camden856-541-1418Contact: Ivelisse Taveres

Serving Latina women in Camden. PRUP holds monthly breast-cancer-awareness work-shops —this month’s is today at 1:30 p.m. — where Spanish-speaking nurses discuss breast health and hand out vouch-ers for free mam-mograms at Cooper University Hospital. Call the number above to ask for details and get info on future workshops.

Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Associations Coalition1711 S. Broad St.215-467-0690, ext. 14 Contact: Amy Jones

Serving uninsured Chinese, Indonesian and Vietnamese women age 40 and up. SEAMAAC hosts “friend-to-friend” parties where women can learn about cancer prevention and screen-ing, and sign up for free mammograms and Pap tests at local hospitals. To attend a party, call the number above. Staffers speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese and Indonesian, and can accompany women to their appointments.

CANCER HELP 24/7The American Cancer Society’s toll-free help line operates 24 hours

a day, with help in English and Spanish. Call 800-227-2345.

AMY RAUDENBUSH

/ Staff Artist

TALKING, YES — TESTING, MAYBE The American Cancer Society recommends that men

make an informed decision with their doctor about the pros and cons of testing for prostate cancer.

It does not recommend routine screening for every-one, pointing out that research has not yet proved that the potential benefits of testing outweigh the harms of testing and treatment.

The ACS believes that men should not be tested without learning what is and is not known about the risks and possible benefits.

The organization is not in favor of community events to screen for prostate cancer unless such an event is a man’s only opportunity to make a well-informed deci-sion, and only if appropriate help is available for both making the decision and getting follow-up care.

Since virtually all men age 65 years and older have health insurance through Medicare, the ACS says they should be discouraged from participating in communi-ty-based screening programs, and should be referred to a primary-care provider.

CANCER CHAT, LIVE TODAYEdith Mitchell, from Thomas Jefferson University’s Kimmel Cancer Center answers your questions starting at noon.

DAIlY NewS HOT BUTTONPHILLY.COM/HOTBUTTON